


Family Matters

by robinasnyder



Series: Dangerous Lovers [6]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25478662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinasnyder/pseuds/robinasnyder
Summary: Talia al Ghul is in town this week. Roman expects we won't see Ra's much that week. He does not expect to come home and find Talia's boyfriend in his living room.
Relationships: Bane/Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul/Roman Sionis
Series: Dangerous Lovers [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808764
Comments: 10
Kudos: 58





	Family Matters

Ra’s daughter was coming into town. Apparently, her cover story was that she was a very wealthy woman who gave a lot to charity and could rub elbows with the best of them. That wasn’t much of a cover, because she actually was extremely wealthy and did give a shit ton to charity and did rub elbows with the best of them. Roman did his best to not be jealous about that, since he’d been able to rub elbows with whoever before his father threw him out. Ra’s could do the whole elbow rubbing thing because he was a sneaky ninja, but he was trying to not set Batman off (and apparently he was one of the people who would see and know Ra’s at one of those parties, and wasn’t that absolutely fascinating?). 

Ra’s was going to be gone most of the day, or possibly all week. Whatever, Roman wasn’t really jealous about that. The man barely saw his child and he’d been as much of a mess as a man like him could be at the thought of getting to see her for the first time in years. Ra’s would return to him once she left (or perhaps even before), and it would go back to the way it had been before. 

Roman didn’t even let Zsasz follow him home. Technically, yes, Ra’s was away, so Zsasz had custody (and wasn’t that adorable?), but Ra’s was still in town and it was possible that he’d come back and want to crawl into bed with Roman. Roman did not feel like pressing Ra’s patience if it went bad with his daughter and then he came back and found Roman and Zsasz fucking. 

So Roman went back to his apartment alone, and that was how he could himself face to face with a giant monster of a man with no guard or Zsasz to help him. The massive mountain was sitting on his sofa, reading one of his magazines, looking fairly relaxed. 

“Um, hello?” Roman heard himself ask. The man, who had some type of Darth Vader mask thing turned to look at him. 

“You’re Sionis,” the man said. 

“Yes?” Roman asked, still standing by the door, wondering how fast he could actually run. 

“My beloved is curious about you, but she is at dinner with her father,” the man said, leaning forward and setting the magazine back on the coffee table. He pushed himself up and stood. 

“Fuck me,” Roman murmured. He was pretty sure they were the same height, or close, but the man made him feel dwarfed. Despite the hardware, he was kind of hot too. “Wait, you’re Talia’s boyfriend? The great beast?” 

The man chuckled, which was warped by the mask. “That is what Ra’s used to call me.” 

Roman felt safe enough to step in and shut the door behind him. “Gotcha. What’s your actual name?” 

“You may call me Bane,” the mountain said. 

“Awesome. Would you like some rose?” Roman asked, sashaying over to the fridge. 

“It would be unadvisable,” Bane said, lowering himself back onto the sofa. 

“More for me then. I have this weird tea shit Ra’s likes if you want that,” Roman offered. 

“Appreciated, but also unadvisable,” Bane said. 

“Can I guess that anything I offer you, you’re going to turn down?” He turned to look at Bane who nodded. “So, is it like a full Darth Vader?” It couldn’t possibly be an identity thing, or the weird relationship Roman had with his mask because he knew, essentially who this person was. 

“You are more clever than the reports give you credit for,” Bane said, sounding equal parts unhappy and intrigued. 

“Ra’s wouldn’t like me if I was a moron,” Roman said. He pulled the bottle of rose from the fridge and poured himself a glass anyway. He flounced his way over to his favorite chair with his glass and bottle and settled himself down. “Did you come to scope me out.” 

“In part. But I believe we are both waiting for someone,” Bane pointed out. 

“Fair,” Roman said. He took a sip of rose. “What’s she like? Ra’s hasn’t seen her in a while, and she’s his kid, so you know, hypothetically there’s a bias.” He tried to not be bitter about Ra’s loving his child. Their relationship with still a mess, even though Ra’s loved his daughter very much. 

“Like a forest fire. Powerful, beautiful and dangerous,” Bane said, leaning back and getting comfortable. 

“So, like Ra’s in an opposite way. He’s like an avalanche,” Roman said. 

Bane hummed at the comparison. “I would not call Ra’s al Ghul a warm man,” he agreed. 

“Well, he’s certainly hot though,” Roman said, smirking into his rose. “But you, are absolutely fascinating.”

“Are you flirting with me Mr. Sionis?” Bane raised an eyebrow in clear disbelief that his girlfriend’s father’s boyfriend would be so obviously flirting. 

“Call me Roman, and of course I’m flirting. You’re hot and you’re not going to try to fuck me, so there’s no reason for me not to.” 

“That seems more a reason not to,” Bane pointed out.

“Well, I don’t have to worry about you making a pass or being interested, so you make a good bit of target practice, as it were,” Roman said. 

That earned a chuckle from the mountain man. “If you had been adopted by the League of Shadows, you would not have lasted a day, but perhaps that is what the old man likes about you.” 

“If he wanted something else with his little shadow puppets, he’d have gotten it from them already,” Roman said. From the laugh he earned, he knew that he had gotten it right that Bane really didn’t like Ra’s little ninja friend group. 

“A fair assessment,” Bane said. “Ra’s al Ghul may use any means he can, including lying, to get what he wants, but he likes to think that his methods are good. He also will let you know if he doesn’t like you.” 

“I have noticed.” Certainly, he made it very clear that he did not like Szazs at all. “Say, how do you feel about card games?” 

Bane chuckled. “It’s been a while since I played.” 

“Great, then now’s a good time,” Roman said, jumping up and going to get one of the decks he had around for game nights with Szazs. 

Bane sat forward, watching Roman closely while he shuffled. Roman did his best to not be concerned. He knew he might get a match or two of winning before getting thoroughly trounce, but that was better than losing the whole way through. Also, this should be relaxing. They weren’t enemies, they were patient spouses and honestly, Roman wanted to pump Bane for information. And Bane probably wanted to same from him. That wasn’t stressful at all.

* * *

Roman stayed up extremely late playing cards. It was only the kisses from Ra’s and a cup of coffee which got him out of be in the morning. He still was grumbling about all of it even while Ra’s made him pancakes. “Did you and Szazs have a late night?” 

Roman could almost believe he was teasing and in a good mood if the look in his eyes wasn’t so strained. Roman took a sip of coffee and set his mug down. 

“Actually, Bane came to see me,” Roman said as nonchalantly as he knew how. Ra’s still dropped the spatula on the floor. “We stayed up late playing cards.” 

“Oh, is that what you call it now?” Ra’s sneered, grabbing the spatula off the ground. 

“That’s what everyone calls it, asshole,” Roman snapped. “If you’re going to accuse me of sleeping with your daughter’s boyfriend, then you can get the fuck out.” He stood, barely keeping from knocking over his coffee. He drew his robe tighter around him, wishing he had more layers.   
“I’m sorry,” Ra’s said, having the good sense to sound ashamed of himself. 

“Good. We were just waiting for you two to finish up. Not our fault you two took so long,” Roman said before letting out a great yawn. “It went bad, huh?” 

“Have you ever spent twelve hours making really bad small talk and then having someone you love verbally eviscerate you in about five minutes?” he asked. 

“I used to live with my father,” Roman said. “That bad, huh?” 

“Yes,” Ra’s said. He turned back to the stove and making breakfast. 

“Did you call Bane a beast again?” He saw Ra’s bristle and knew he’d been right on the money. “Cause you know, if my father said something bad about you I would have ripped his face off with my bare hands. I don’t care if I was trying to win his love or not. 

Ra’s was silent, still working on the meal. Roman didn’t make him speak, just watched him cook. He waited while Ra’s made the type of high-sugar, high-fat breakfast that the man never liked but Roman loved. He watched Ra’s make enough for two (and twice as many for himself as Roman) and then devour his plate in angry silence. 

Roman kept his comments to himself and took the dishes to the sink before Ra’s could get them, leaving the man to stew on his own while Roman cleaned up his mess. Ra’s preferred to keep his hands busy, so this was a little pay back on Roman’s part for practically accusing him of cheating.

Finally, he got them both a second cup of coffee and came to sit back at the table. Ra’s nodded and accepted his cup, taking a couple little sips and letting out a very long sigh. 

“I told you what happened with Bane and Talia,” Ra’s said. 

“You told me your version, but I think you left something out,” Roman said. “I think you hate Bane because he saved Talia and you didn’t. And I think you hate Bane because he couldn’t save your wife, who wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for you.” 

Ra’s expression became entirely close off, and Roman knew very well that he was right. Roman just gave him a hard look. 

“He may be violent, and cruel and insane. But so am I. I don’t play by your rules either and you fucking love me. You’re just guilty and as long as you keep blaming him, you’re never going to get along with your daughter. They love each other. You can’t get around that one.” 

Ra’s stared at him for a long moment, deep rage in his eyes. Roman wondered if maybe this was the moment he actually got murdered. He set his mouth in a stubborn pout. He might be dead, but he was right, and Ra’s knew it. 

Ra’s dropped his gaze and then dropped his head into his hands. “I… hate that you make sense.” 

“If she didn’t want this to work, she wouldn’t be trying,” Roman said. “The least you can do is offer her the same.” 

“You’re right,” Ra’s right. He dropped his hand and looked at Roman. His expression was painful to Roman. He was so wounded. Roman rarely got to see Ra’s actually hurt and he hated it. 

He got up and went and crawled into Ra’s lap. Ra’s wrapped his arms around his waist and buried his nose against his neck. Roman was content to let Ra’s breath in his scent and calm down. Roman wished he knew what was going on in his head, but he didn’t try to make him tell.

“Thank you,” Ra’s said after a moment of silence. “I will try to be better at this.” 

Roman blinked, realizing he was getting all teary. “Fuck, I hate my dad so much. I wish- fuck, I wish that he’d ever given as much of a damn as you do. Just a fraction. Just a fraction. I wish he’d cared.” 

He felt Ra’s kiss his hair. “He didn’t deserve you,” he murmured. Ra’s stood shifting his grip to hold Roman securely against his chest, carrying him back toward the bedroom. 

“Sorry, this isn’t about me.” 

Ra’s chuckled weakly. “I would much rather talk about you than me right now. You had a late night. Let’s get you bad to bed. I’ll hold you until you fall asleep.” 

“Stay,” Roman ordered. 

“Okay,” Ra’s said, not even pretending to fight. It was disconcerting. Ra’s was so vulnerable; in a way he never was. Roman didn’t feel at all equipped to handle that. So, he would do what he knew how to do, which was cuddle the man he loved. 

Once they were in the bedroom, Roman stripped them both, dragging them into bed and laying on top of Ra’s chest. Ra’s didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he clung to Roman too. Roman couldn’t think about that too hard, and honestly, he was so tired that it really wasn’t hard to just fall asleep.

* * *

He barely saw Ra’s after that. He would crawl into bed with Roman once the day was over, but it was generally very late. Roman would wake a little when he would come in, but Ra’s would be gone in the morning. The last day of Talia’s trip, Roman came home alone again, expecting to crash into bed alone and have Ra’s arrive later. 

He wasn’t totally surprised to see Bane there. The man hadn’t come back after their late night card game, but they’d kept in touch via text the whole week. He was more surprised to see a lovely woman standing next to him. Roman knew down in his bones that this had to be Talia. 

“Ms. al Ghul,” Roman said, shutting the door. 

“Mr. Sionis,” Talia said, her voice wrapping around his name in a way that reminded him very much for her father. 

“How may I help you?” 

“I came to thank you. My father apologized for certain things I did not believe he ever would,” she said. 

“Oh?” Roman asked. 

“He actually came to speak with me,” Bane said, sounding amused. 

Roman let out a relieved sigh. “Good… Talia, your father does love you. My father was a shit head, but I’d still give anything if he would have tried to reach out to me. I know Ra’s can be a little… short sighted at times, but he’s trying.” 

“I know,” Talia said. “He is… I will come back in a few months. And I will try.” 

“Thank you,” Roman said. 

“You told my father to stop insulting my love. I believe I should thank you,” Talia said. She smiled warmly. 

Roman grinned back. “Eh, Bane’s good people.” 

Talia tipped her head back and laughed. “You have a good evening, Mr. Sionis. I will come see you the next time I am in town.” 

“I’ll look forward to it,” he said. 

“Come, my love,” she said, reaching for Bane, who took her hand without question. For a moment they shared a tender look, one which felt deeply private. 

They didn’t say goodbye. They did walk out his front door. Roman was certain they hadn’t come in that way. He didn’t care. He was busy being giddy that he’d met Ra’s family and they’d actually liked him. Not only that, but they wanted to see him again! 

He got himself ready for bed, knowing that Ra’s would be back soon and probably want to celebrate. Roman wanted to celebrate too. He couldn’t wait.


End file.
